It’s evident that people with money and power can continue to play with the legal system. In yet another such instance, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has challenged the CBI court’s verdict in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. It may be recalled that Gurmeet was convicted in two rape cases and was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the CBI court. Now, Gurmeet has appealed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Gurmeet’s defense counsel Vishal Garg Narwana said that an appeal has been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The appeal challenges the order given by the CBI court. The defense counsel said that there are many discrepancies in the case, due to which an appeal in a higher court had become necessary.

Vishal said that one of the major discrepancies is that the statements of the rape victims were recorded six years after the incident. According to CBI, the rapes took place in 1999, but the statements of the victims were recorded in 2005. Vishal also accused the CBI of concealing some portions of the victims’ statement. The rape had come to light after the victims had raised the matter with the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Haryana CM and various other top institutions. The appeal filed by Dera chief shows that people with money can exploit the legal system to their advantage. They can find loopholes and use it to unnecessarily prolong the case. This tactic has been used by many other criminals in the past.